Things He Left Behind
by time4moxie
Summary: Ryan finds an assortment of junk in Jim's desk. He lets Pam decide what to do with it.


On the first day of Ryan's new position, he stopped at the reception desk and dropped a carrier bag of stuff in front of Pam. 

"Here's some junk that I found in Jim's desk. I didn't know if I should throw it out or not."

Pam said thanks and took the bag. She looked inside, but then decided it was something she could deal with later. The pain was still too intense. She opened the bottom drawer of her desk and shoved the bag in there.

Weeks passed, and every morning Pam saw the bag as she put her purse away. Every day she grew a little less angry when she saw it. Every day she grew a little more sad. One day near the beginning of July, she came into work and saw the bag again as she put her purse away. She reached down and pulled the bag out, and emptied the contents on her desk.

She carefully sifted through the contents. She could see how Ryan had thought it was junk. Touching each item gingerly, she saw nothing but memories. Tears filled her eyes, but she carefully wiped each one away as they appeared. She didn't want anyone to come over and bother her. She lined each item up on her desk, wondering what in the world to do. She couldn't bear to throw any of it away. It represented everything that she was missing. Like her, they were all things Jim had left behind when he took the promotion in Stamford.

Spent most of the morning trying ignore the junk on her desk, but it was impossible. He may as well been sitting right there. She was angry at herself for the emotions such useless trinkets were causing; she was angry at him for what he'd done to her. But more than all that, she missed Jim. She knew underneath it all she could forgive him anything if he was just here.

Pam suddenly had an idea. She knew it was insane, and would probably back-fire horribly, but it needed done. She'd never be able to live with herself if she didn't grasp this one last straw.

She turned to her computer and typed the following letter:

_Dear Jim,_

_Hope things are going well for you in your new position in Stamford._

_Ryan took over your desk, and in the process found these items that he said belonged to you. I took the liberty of looking them over and thought you might like the chance to reclaim them. It's not unusual to accidently leave things behind in the midst of such change and confusion._

_Enclosed is a packing list detailing each item. Seven of the items were small enough to fit in this package, one was not. I've included the seven small ones for your convenience in case you did still want them. Please advise what you want me to do with the one thing you left behind that was too large to ship._

_Take care, and don't forget about all of us in Scranton._

_Pam_

Page Two read as follows:

Reclaimation List for Jim Halpert:

1. One (1) pack of Chili's Restaurant logo'd matches. Still look useable.

2. Three (3) black construction paper circles, adhesive tape carefully removed for shipping. In case you need a Halloween costume in Stamford.

3. One (1) receipt from Wegman's. Items purchased include 69 packets of Cup-o-Noodle, large bag of M&Ms, fabric softener, and an American Pie II dvd.

4. One (1) empty inside wrapper of Jello. Contents empty, but it appears to have been lime-flavored.

5. Remnants of one (1) used bottle rocket. Dwight's name appears to be written on part of the cardboard tubing, but as it was found in your desk, possession is 9/10ths of the law.

6. One (1) business card of a Stephanie Wilding, Pacific Outback Travel Agency. It is assumed this fell out of your rolodex.

7. One (1) white paper, oragami folded bird. Might be a swan or a dove.

8. One (1) Pamela Beesly, Dunder-Mifflin Scranton receptionist. Due to shipping limitations is not included in this package. Master prankster, joke teller, and partner-in-crime. Good listener, loyal friend, hopes it isn't too late to be more than that now.

Pam found a large envelope and carefully folded the letter, the packing list, and seven of the eight items listed into it. She sealed it carefully, applied a neatly typed label and then postage. It was addressed to Jim in care of the Stamford branch, and she had written 'Personal' in clear letters along the bottom.

At two o'clock, the mailman came in for his usual afternoon pick-up. She made certain that Jim's envelope was on the top of the pile.

She could only hope he wanted all of the things he'd left behind.


End file.
